News from the Library of Congress

November 8, 2002

National Registry of Service Launched for Vets

On Veterans Day, November 11, 2002, the Library of Congress's Veterans History Project at the American Folklife Center launched its National Registry of Service. This online resource is a new component of the Project's recently redesigned Web site, www.loc.gov/vets. The National Registry of Service honors all those military veterans and civilians whose oral history interviews or other personal wartime accounts have been donated to the Library of Congress, by providing each person's name, date and place of birth, branch of service, war(s), unit and location of service, interviewer or donor of material, and the donor's institutional affiliation, if any. To date, more than 2,400 names appear on the Registry.

The Veterans History Project is just two years old; materials are still being sought, and the Registry will reflect these additions in years to come, as individuals' donations are received and processed into the collection.

Veterans History Project Director Ellen McCulloch-Lovell, said, This is an important milestone for this project. It allows not just the Library of Congress but the entire nation to acknowledge our gratitude to each of those who have sacrificed for our nation in wartime."

The Veterans History Project's founding corporate sponsor is AARP. The project was initiated by the U.S. Congress in 2000 to honor veterans by collecting and preserving at the Library of Congress, and at partner repositories, veterans' personal accounts of wartime, as a permanent legacy for future generations. The Project's information kit can be obtained at its Web site, www.loc.gov/vets, or by calling its toll-free number, 1-888-371-5848. The National Registry's URL is: www.loc.gov/vets/vets-registry.html.